First names released for Mark Twain Nostalgic Film Festival

Hannibal native Mike Marx, seen here with some of his memorabilia from Hollywood's Golden Age, is helping coordinate the Mark Twain Nostalgic Film Festival scheduled for September 2018. Marx said plans are underway to acknowledge a former film or TV star with a lifetime achievement award at the event. | H-W File Photo/Phil CarlsonPhil Carlson
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HANNIBAL, Mo. -- For Mike Marx, this kind of process remains a labor of love.

Marx, who for 30 years was a talent agent in Hollywood before returning to his Northeast Missouri roots in 1999, has released the first six names of current and former celebrities who will be part of the Sept. 13 to 15 Mark Twain Nostalgic Film Festival.

Marx, 74, helped coordinate the event for 38 years in Winston-Salem, N.C., before deciding to move it to his hometown. During its stay in North Carolina, which ended in 2017, the event was primarily known as the Western Film Festival and Nostalgia Convention.

The remainder of the festival lineup and other details are scheduled to be released sometime during the summer. Vintage films and assorted nostalgia vendors will be among the other attractions.

Hannibal-LaGrange University will host the convention. Details on times, sites and ticket prices will be released later this year.

Another element of the convention will be its annual lifetime achievement award. The recipient's name will be revealed several weeks prior to the event.

"Over the years, the convention has kind of morphed from featuring only western stars of film and television to more of the general type of television and pop culture figures," Marx said. "So many of the original TV and movie cowboys are no longer with us."

Among some of the early stars of the festival were the likes of Robert Fuller ("Wagon Train," "Laramie"), Ty Hardin ("Bronco"), Will Hutchins ("Sugarfoot"), Clint Walker ("Cheyenne"), Jock Mahoney ("Yancy Derringer") and John Russell ("Lawman").

Marx said he has a ton of fond memories from coordinating events such as this and is looking to add to that list in Hannibal in the coming years.

"If I had this to do all over again, I'd do it all over again," Marx said, with an accompanying chuckle. "I might have done some things differently, but I'd definitely do it all again."

Marx also coordinated the "Legends of Rock and Roll" show in Los Angeles for 13 years during his stay on the west coast.